Oldsmobile Mail List Server

A forum for your questions and information about Oldsmobiles. Emphasis
on, but not limited to, V-8 powered Oldsmobiles.

To subscribe to the list server use your email program to send a message
to majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca.
In the email message body, leave the subject blank and include only
the words "subscribe oldsmobile", or "subscribe oldsmobile-digest"
for the digest version.

Be prepared to receive around 100 messages per day!!! The alternative
is digest delivery (one 60KB collection of messages at a time - about three
every two days).

You may post messages to the list readers, seeking parts, advice,
etc., or supplying the same. Your email will be distributed to all of the
other list subscribers.

Basically your messages should read like a
conversation would sound. Shouting at someone or agressively arguing a
point would not be acceptable in a conversation with someone you do not
know, and the same holds true for the list. We encourage polite
debate, not in-your-face put-downs.

Post no pictures, and please limit non Olds material. Read the list
welcome message thoroughly. Everyone on the list is pretty polite, and much
nicer than most Usenet news groups. Enjoy!

I suggest subscribing to the digest version unless you like getting
100 or more individual posts per day, including the weekend.

Take a look
at the FAQ and the digest archives first. Chances are the information is contained
in one of these forms, but don't hesitate to post to the mail list.

Toronado Mail List Server

A forum specifically for questions and information on Toronados.

To subscribe to the list server use your email program to send a message
to majordomo@armchair.mb.ca.
In the email message body, leave the subject blank and include only the
words "subscribe toro", or "subscribe toro-digest" for the
digest version (about one collection of messages a day).

Once you have subscribed, send all of your Toronado related questions and
comments to toro@armchair.mb.ca.

You may post your own notice to the list readers, seeking parts, advice,
etc., or supplying the same. Your email will be distributed to all of the
other list subscribers. Digest delivery of messages is also available.

Basically your messages should read like a
conversation would sound. Shouting at someone or agressively arguing a
point would not be acceptable in a conversation with someone you do not
know, and the same holds true for the list. We encourage polite
debate, not in-your-face put-downs.

Take a look at the FAQ and the digest archives first. Chances are the
information is contained in one of these forms, but don't hesitate to post
to the mail list.

"Ownership of an Oldsmobile is NOT required to join the club. Any
year or type of Oldsmobile is welcome in our ranks. This is the largest
exclusive Oldsmobile club in the world. We have nearly 6,400 members and
we date back to 1971."

"Please allow several weeks for processing. Please remit U.S. funds
only. No checks in Canadian Dollars or foreign currency."

Send to: OCA, P. O. Box 80318, Lansing, MI 48908-0318.

In the application they ask for your name, address, city, state, zip,
phone number, list of Oldsmobiles currently owned, and other OCA chapters
you may be affiliated with.

A 1st-class membership in the Olds Club of America, gets you 1st-class
delivery of the monthly newsletter Journey With Olds, with ads, tech
articles, etc. If you get 3rd class delivery, the good parts are all gone
by the time you get the newsletter. The newsletter will not be forwarded with
3rd class delivery, say if you move and forget to change your address.
You also get 25 free words of advertising
each month, and subsequent words are only 15c each. One of the most useful
ads for a parts seeker is the "Parts Wanted" ad. There are also
sub-chapters of the OCA, specializing in say H/O's, W-cars, etc.

Oldsmobile Enthusiast World Wide Web Pages

Byrceman's Olds Page

A truly excellent
WWW page dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of Oldsmobiles everywhere.

Check out the "Oldsmobile Parts Sources" page for a list of
after market suppliers of all products for your Oldsmobile. "Technical
Pages" provides reference on models, engines and rebuilding. The "Related
Entities" page provides information on joining the Oldsmobile Club of
America and other organizations.

Other pages available are "Road Tests and Evaluations", "Oddities
and Innovations", "Oldsified Ads", "Collectibles, Books
and Literature", "Art and Images", and the "Oldsmobile
Owners Registry". Don't leave without "doing" the R.E. Olds
Museum virtual tour!

The H07 Registry was created in 1995 to create a communications
network for enthusiast-owners of H07 bodied cars. Announcements
for the registry appear in the OCA Journey With Olds and
various other publications.

GM Historical Services (Canada)

They can only trace back cars that have been originally sold in Canada,
but it does not matter were the car was originally built. For instance,
my 1970 4-4-2 was built in Fremont, California but was sold at a Dealership
in Vancouver, B.C. Therefore if the car was built in the U.S. and it was
sold in the U.S. and then brought up to Canada at a later date, they will
not be able to trace it and give you any information on the car.

The cost is $42.80 total. You give them your VIN and they research and
send you a sheet with the trim codes, paint codes, top, Production Plant,
Shipping Date, Model Number, Engine size and HP and Dealer that it was
sold at. You also get all the options that were ORIGINALLY on the car with
a description of each.

You also get a 30 page AMA Specifications book on your car from that model
year. It has everything that you could possibly
imagine (eg. exhaust valve material, length, head diameter, angle of seat,
stem diameter, stem to guide clearence, lift etc. This is just the
exhaust valve section! Every part of the car is in this technical sheet.
(ie. Upper Compression Ring - Cast Iron
with Crowned and Molybdenum Plated O.D., Width: 0.0770-0.0780, Gap:
0.013-0.023).

You also get a 67 page Vintage Vehicle Restoration Guide that has hundreds
of addresses, phone numbers and a short description of what they sell.
The table of contents is: Introduction, General Motors - How it all
Began, In Canada - The Early Years, A General Motors Family Album,
Important GM Dates, Some General Information, A Word about Shop Manuals,
GM Restoration Parts Licensing Program, Car Clubs, Services (34 pages of
parts places and services with descriptions of what they specialize in),
and Literature.

[ Thanks to Greg Beaulieu for this information ]

Oldsmobile History Center

The very first thing every classic Olds owner must do is WRITE to
the Olds History Center to obtain some original documentation for their car.
There is a $15 research fee.

The History Center can also provide, for cars built from 1977 on, a
copy of the original selling invoice for your car. This will
tell you the dealer from which the car was originally purchased, and what
options were on the car when it left the factory.

[ Thanks to Randy Geisel for this information. ]

RE Olds Transportation Museum

A small virtual tour can be found on
Bryceman's Olds Web Site. At the
museum you will find items like one of the original four 1897 Olds,
a Curved Dash Olds, the Aerotech research vehicle (current land speed record holder),
'66 Toronado #1 (2 '66's), Aurora #1, '49 Rocket OHV, '68 Hurst #1
(only 4 speed), 455 Hemi, 455 4 valve, 455 DOHC, 455 Turbo, and among other things,
a humongous cast-iron engine from the 1920's. Among the approximate
40 cars and trucks are
REO's and Oldsmobiles. Worth the trip to Lansing in central Michigan.

[ Thanks to Chris Witt, Mike Turley for this information ]

Bowling Automotic Programs Web Site

Grand National Web Site

A lot of stuff that's applicable to the later model Cutlass'.
Computer error codes, tranny tips, suspension modifications, etc. Among
them I found detailed instructions on how to remove, repair, and replace
the power antenna on my '84 H/O (including GM part numbers for the repair
kit), tips for traction, how to install a headliner, heater core, tranny
removal, replacing the lockup converter with a non-lockup, and lots of
other stuff. If you have a G-body, go check it out at
http://www.gnttype.org/index.html.
Do a net search if this link is old.

Books

The best commercially available info sources are a book called 442
by the Numbers published by SuperCars, Ultd. of Portland, OR, and Joe
Mondello's Technical Reference Manual. The former is about $15, covers
442 [only] from '64 to '72 mainly, has VIN decoding, casting number applications,
correct number listings for carbs, distributors, differentials, etc. A
"best buy" for the beginner, many photos.

The Mondello booklet is about $25, covers more components, but lacks a bit
in composition and editing. No VIN decoding is offered, but the
casting number parts identification is much more extensive, and in addition
to the 442 items, small blocks and ordinary engines are covered as well.
More technical information, such as head displacement volume, is listed.

Available from Mondello Performance, Inc. Get it for even more details
on Oldsmobile engines 1964 - 1994, excluding the 394.

[ Thanks to Brad Nicholson, others for this information ]

Manuals

Shop manuals and the like are widely available. Be aware that for some years
the chassis manual consisted of a multi (eg. five) volume set. Most years
are two manuals: chassis (shop) and body (all GM bodies for that year). There are
several automobile literature vendors who advertise in Hemmings and the
various Olds club publications. Try 1-800-BUY-A-BOOK. First thing I'd recommend
for anyone new to the old-car hobby is to pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor
News at your local newsstand. It has advertisements from just about
everyone in the busines, for just about anything to do with automobiles
and trucks.

Bob Johnson's Auto Literature at 800-334-0688. Walter Miller of Syracuse
NY. Dragich Auto Literature of Minneapolis, MN. Ken McGee of Goderich,
Ontario, Canada. These guys tend to have both NOS and used original manuals,
along with some reprints, and they carry them for just about every car
ever made (or they can find them for you).

For Olds-specific stuff, there's Al and Bill Sandy at 609-858-0248,
members of OCA. You will also find most literature at local swap meets
for a little less money.